DATE=5-13-99
TYPE=ENGLISH PROGRAMS FEATURE
NUMBER=7-32021
TITLE=NEW SLAVERY
BYLINE=ZLATICA HOKE
TELEPHONE=619-0935
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
EDITOR=SWANEY
CONTENT=
INTRO: SLAVERY IS ILLEGAL THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, YET MILLIONS OF
PEOPLE ARE STILL TRAPPED IN ONE OF HISTORY'S OLDEST
SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS. BUT WHILE IN THE PAST, SLAVES
USUALLY REPRESENTED A LONG-TERM INVESTMENT, TODAY THEY
ARE CHEAP AND DISPOSABLE. ZLATICA HOKE DISCUSSED NEW
SLAVERY WITH A MEMBER OF THE ANTI-SLAVERY INTERNATIONAL
GROUP AND HAS THIS REPORT.
TEXT: SLAVES TODAY MAKE BRICKS IN THE KILNS OF PAKISTAN, CUT
DOWN AND BURN TREES FOR CHARCOAL IN BRAZIL, TOIL IN THE
FIELDS OF INDIA OR WORK AS PROSTITUTES IN THE CITIES OF
THE WORLD. KEVIN BALES, A SOCIOLOGIST AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF SURREY, ENGLAND AND AN ANTI-SLAVERY ADVOCATE, SAYS
AVAILABLE DATA INDICATE THAT OVER 27-MILLION PEOPLE IN
THE WORLD TODAY ARE ENSLAVED. AN ESTIMATED 20 PERCENT
OF THEM ARE YOUNGER THAN 18. AS IN THE PAST, TODAY'S
SLAVES ARE CONTROLLED BY VIOLENCE AND NOT PAID FOR THEIR
WORK. BUT, KEVIN BALES SAYS, ONE THING IS DIFFERENT.
TAPE CUT ONE BALES :20
"SLAVES ARE NOW VERY CHEAP, PROBABLY CHEAPER THAN
THEY'VE EVER BEEN IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. AND THAT
MEANS THAT THE PROFITS TO BE MADE FROM SLAVERY ARE MUCH
HIGHER THAN THEY USED TO BE. AND THAT MEANS THERE ARE
UNSCRUPULOUS PEOPLE WHO ARE MUCH MORE EAGER TO GO INTO
SLAVERY (SLAVE TRAFFICKING) BECAUSE THE PROFITS ARE SO
HIGH."
TEXT: IN HIS NEW BOOK "DISPOSABLE PEOPLE," KEVIN BALES SAYS
THREE FACTORS HAVE HELPED CREATE THE NEW SLAVERY.
TAPE CUT TWO BALES :28
"SINCE THE SECOND WORLD WAR, THERE'S BEEN A POPULATION
EXPLOSION AROUND THE WORLD AND ESPECIALLY IN THE
DEVELOPING WORLD. AND THIS MEANS THAT THERE'S JUST A
LOT MORE PEOPLE WHO CAN BE ENSLAVED. YOU THEN HAVE TO
ADD TO THAT ECONOMIC VULNERABILITY. AND YOU CAN FIND
PEOPLE IN SHANTY TOWNS AND SLUMS AROUND THE WORLD WHO
ARE VERY ECONOMICALLY VULNERABLE. THOSE TWO THINGS
TOGETHER MAKE THEM RIPE FOR, IN A SENSE, HARVEST AS
SLAVES."
TEXT: KEVIN BALES SAYS GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION IS THE THIRD AND
OFTEN MOST ESSENTIAL FACTOR IN NEW SLAVERY. WHEN
GOVERNMENTS DO NOT CONTROL PEOPLE WHO CAN USE VIOLENCE
TO ENSLAVE OTHERS, THEN THESE PEOPLE CAN CAPTURE THE
ECONOMICALLY VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS AND TURN
THEM INTO SLAVES. KEVIN BALES SAYS THIS IS HAPPENING IN
MANY DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WHERE ECONOMIC CHANGE HAS BRED
CORRUPTION AND VIOLENCE, DESTROYING SOCIAL RULES WHICH
ONCE PROTECTED THE VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS. THUS, HE
SAYS, THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE ENSLAVED ARE IN SOUTH-EAST
ASIA, THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT, NORTH AND WEST AFRICA AND
SOUTH AMERICA, PARTICULARLY IN BRAZIL. SOME SLAVES ARE
TRANSFERRED ACROSS THE BORDER TO WORK IN OTHER
COUNTRIES.
KEVIN BALES SAYS SLAVES ARE MOSTLY USED FOR WORK THAT
DOES NOT REQUIRE ANY TRAINING, BUT IS HARD OR DANGEROUS.
HE GIVES AN EXAMPLE FROM BRAZIL.
TAPE CUT THREE BALES :22
"MEN ARE ENSLAVED FROM THE SLUMS OF EASTERN BRAZIL, THEY
ARE SHIPPED OUT TO THE FORESTS OF WESTERN BRAZIL AND
THERE THEY CUT DOWN THE FORESTS AND BURN THE WOOD TO
MAKE CHARCOAL. IT IS A VERY SIMPLE PROCESS. IT IS A
VERY DISGUSTING, DIRTY, DANGEROUS KIND OF WORK, BUT IT
IS A VERY SIMPLE KIND OF WORK."
TEXT: (BEGIN OPT) KEVIN BALES SAYS SOMETIMES PEOPLE BECOME
SLAVES VOLUNTARILY. MANY NEED A LOAN TO PAY FOR
EXPENSIVE MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR A FAMILY MEMBER OR
ANOTHER PRESSING CAUSE. IF THEY HAVE NO OTHER MEANS,
THEY GIVE THEMSELVES IN BONDAGE TO THE LENDER. THE
BONDAGE IS OFTEN PASSED ON FROM GENERATION TO
GENERATION. SO SOME PEOPLE BECOME SLAVES AS SOON AS
THEY ARE BORN. IN SOME CASES PEOPLE ARE TRICKED INTO
SLAVERY. MANY YOUNG UNEMPLOYED WOMEN, FOR EXAMPLE, SEEK
HELP FROM MAFIA RINGS TO GET THEM ACROSS THE BORDER IN
THE HOPE OF FINDING A JOB -- ONLY TO BE FORCED TO BECOME
PROSTITUTES. (END OPT)
KEVIN BALES SAYS THE UNITED NATIONS AND MANY GOVERNMENTS
AS WELL AS LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL GROUPS ARE FIGHTING
SLAVERY. BUT SO FAR THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO
ERADICATE IT. WHAT IS LACKING, IN HIS OPINION, IS THE
INVOLVEMENT OF POWERFUL INTERNATIONAL TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
AND THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION. HE SAYS THESE
INSTITUTIONS SHOULD INCLUDE IN THEIR WORK CONSIDERATIONS
OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND SLAVERY, FORCING GOVERNMENTS TO
ACTION AGAINST SLAVERY WITHIN THEIR BORDERS. (REST OPT)
MR. BALES ADDS REHABILITATION FOR FREED SLAVES IS AS
IMPORTANT AS THEIR LIBERATION BECAUSE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT
ECONOMICALLY SELF-SUFFICIENT MAY EASILY BE ENSLAVED
AGAIN.
13-May-99 3:44 PM EDT (1944 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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